The present invention relates to decorative exterior wall coverings, and in particular, to an injection molded corner trim piece having integrally formed elements to improve the appearance and fit of the corner trim pieces when attached together or to siding panels.
Many types of exterior panels are currently known and used in the construction and improvement of residential, commercial, industrial and other buildings. Typically, such panels are formed from a light-weight composite material and are manufactured using conventional extrusion molding, injection molding, impression molding or thermal forming processes. Such panels may be formed in various shapes, such as individually elongated sections similar to standard aluminum siding or single panels incorporating one or more rows of individual decorative elements, such as for example, simulated cedar shake siding. Individual panels are often connected to other previously installed, identical panels through a vertical attachment and a horizontal attachment by which portions of the panel to be installed overlap portions of previously installed panels.
A natural joint is formed between the panels at corners of the structures or buildings to which the panels are mounted. The corners may be covered with trim boards or other trim members to hide the corner joint. In the case of siding have simulated cedar shake elements, it is aesthetically desirable to cover the corner joints with trim pieces that match the simulated cedar shake elements. One such corner trim piece is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,015,391 to Epstein et al. entitled SIMULATED CEDAR SHAKE CONSTRUCTION, issued Apr. 5, 1977, which is incorporated in its entirety herein by reference. Epstein et al. discloses single row simulated cedar shake corner trim piece elements. The corner trim piece elements have no side joints or connections and are designed merely to overlap horizontally adjacent siding panels. The trim piece elements do include a vertical lip upstanding on the bottom inside edge and an extension tab extending from the top edge having a nose-like member projection forward from the planes of the shake faces. A slot receptor is formed between the base of the nose and the extension tab that is configured to receive the vertical lip on a corner trim piece member to be mounted directly above.
Another simulated cedar shake corner trim piece is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,347,784 to Crick et al. entitled DECORATIVE WALL COVERING WITH IMPROVED INTERLOCK AND CORNER CONSTRUCTION issued Sep. 20, 1994, which is incorporated in its entirety herein by reference. The corner trim piece disclosed by Crick et al. has three tiers of simulated cedar shake elements. Along the sides of the corner trim pieces an outwardly opening pocket is formed for receiving an end of a respective panel mounted horizontally adjacent the trim piece. The corner trim piece disclosed by Crick et al. also includes upwardly extending notches at the lower end thereof, which are intended to permit positioning of the lower end of the corner trim piece over a previously mounted corner molding. The corner trim pieces also include small horizontal locating ledges at the upper end that are intended to facilitate proper positioning of the notches of a corner trim piece onto a previously mounted trim piece.
Another simulated cedar shake corner trim piece is disclosed in related U.S. Publication Nos. US 2002/0121057 A1, published Sep. 5, 2002 and US 2002/0162291 A1, published Nov. 7, 2002, both to Steffes et al. and entitled CEDAR IMPRESSION SIDING CORNER. The design of this simulated cedar shake trim piece is also disclosed in U.S. Design Pat. No. D454,648 S to Shaw et al. entitled CEDAR IMPRESSION OUTSIDE SIDING CORNER, issued Mar. 19, 2002, and all of those are incorporated in their entirety herein by reference. The simulated cedar shake corner piece disclosed by Steffes et al. and Shaw et al. is formed with two offset tiers of simulated cedar shake elements. The elements do not have any grooves or attachment joints along the side edges; however, the side edges of the upper simulated cedar shake element are laterally offset from the side edges of the lower simulated cedar shake element. The corner trim piece disclosed by Steffes et al. and Shaw et al. also includes catches disposed at the inner bottom end and nailing flanges extending vertically upward from the top end of each trim piece. The nailing flanges also include catches that extend downward from the front sides of the trim pieces. The catches disposed at the bottom end of one corner trim piece fit into the catches disposed on the nailing flanges of a corner trim piece that is mounted below.
There continues to be a need for corner trim elements that have an improved aesthetic appearance and locking configuration to lock with other corner trim elements above and below and to join with laterally disposed siding panels. It is therefore, an object of the present invention to provide corner trim piece with improved locking features. It is a further object of the invention to provide corner trim pieces that have simulated cedar shake elements and that provide a natural looking fit and appearance with other corner trim pieces as well as laterally disposed siding panels having simulated cedar shake elements. These and other objects of the invention have been accomplished with the decorative corner trim members set forth and described below.